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College Football Week 13: 5 bold predictions

The final week of the season is upon on us! No better way to get it started then to check out our bold predictions for the final week of the regular season.

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It’s the final week of the college football regular season. It is also rivalry week which should make for some great games. A lot of teams will be looking to lock up a playoff spot, while others are still looking for their sixth win to become bowl eligible.

The CFP top four rankings stayed the same, knowing that both Michigan and Ohio State can’t make the playoff since one will lose come Saturday. In all likely hood three spots have been taken with the fourth up for grabs. This weekend will be huge for a lot of those teams. They will have to play their way into the play with big wins.

To get ready for the season final, here are some bold predictions for the last week of the college football season.

5. Alabama wins the Iron Bowl by 20

If Auburn’s loss to Georgia showed anything, it’s that Auburn may not be very talented on the offensive side of the ball. They were only able to put up seven points against a Georgia defense that normal gives up triple that amount of points on average. Meanwhile Alabama’s defense is only allowing 11 points a game. It seems unlikely for Auburn to put up huge points in this game.

Alabama is still undefeated and will remain so after this week. They should be able to beat this mildly overrated Auburn rather easily at home and cruise into the SEC championship game at 12-0. Auburn won’t have much to challenge Alabama with this year. Bama is averaging over 40 points a game and Auburn has no way of being able to stop them from putting up those type of points.

Alabama will take the Iron Bowl once again this year, as they stay undefeated and look for yet another SEC championship.

Oct 15, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) drops back for a pass against the UCLA Bruins during the second half at Martin Stadium. The Cougars won 27-21. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

4. Washington State wins the Apple Cup

There are some great names for some of the rivalry games that are played on the final week of the season. Oregon and Oregon State play in the “Civil War”. The Iron Bowl with Alabama and Auburn. Michigan and Ohio State play in just simply, “the game.” Yet the Apple cup has always been a favorite of mine and this year the stakes in this game are the biggest that they have been in a long time.

Both Washington and Washington State can still make the Pac 12 championship. All they have to do is win this game. If that wasn’t big enough, a CFP spot may be on the line for Washington as well. Knowing that either Michigan or Ohio State must lose, that opens the door for No. 5 Washington to be that fourth team. All they have to do is win the Apple Cup. Something that I don’t think they will do.

This will be the toughest game that either team will play all year, and in this case, I am giving the edge to the team with home field advantage, which is Washington State. The Cougars will love the chance they have in front of them. A chance to win the Pac 12 North and beat their biggest rival, in front of the home crowd. Mix that with all the pressure that will be on Washington to carry the Pac 12 into the CFP and I believe that an upset will occur. Washington State takes the Apple Cup.

Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Chris Frey (23) looks to the sidelines during the first quarter of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

3. Michigan State upsets Penn State

Do you know what one the most dangerous things in the world is? A person with nothing to lose. Or in this case, a team with nothing to lose. I team with nothing to lose will play however they want, because the outcome does not matter. That is the case here with Michigan State. Even with a win their season is over. They will not be going to a bowl.

Unlike them, Penn State has a lot of pressure on their shoulders, They still have a chance to make the Big Ten championship with a win and a Michigan loss, which is very possible. They have to make sure that they don’t lose this game, while Michigan State can just play freely. Michigan State should look to lean on RB L.J Scott to lead them on Saturday. Penn State always almost 200 rush yards a game to opponents. Scott has proven to be a good RB for the Spartans this year and could have a huge game.

Michigan State has nothing to lose, so they will throw everything left in the playbook at Penn State. With Michigan State playing freely and the pressure on the Nittany Lions to win, this could become a trap game or sorts for themselves. If the Spartan defense holds Penn State the way that they held Ohio State, I have a feeling the Spartans will come out of Happy Valley with a win.

2. Western Michigan completes its undefeated regular season

In just four short years, P.J Fleck has not only changed how this team plays, but also the future of Western Michigan football. In his first year, Fleck was 1-11. Now the Broncos are 11-0 and are the only other undefeated left in college football besides Alabama.

Fleck has done some amazing things in his time at WMU, including getting WMU their first bowl win ever in school history. Aside from all that, what may be the most importing thing he has done, is bring a winning culture to the Western program. That is so important because, recruits will see happened their this year and will want to be a part of that.

In their final regular season game, the Broncos host the Toledo Rockets. This will not be an easy game for either of them. Winner will end up going to the MAC championship. Yet I still believe that Western Michigan will come out on top. Their QB Zach Terrell has only thrown on pick all year. That may indicate why Western has down so well this year. They don’t turn the ball over. So don’t expect them to against Toledo either. The Broncos will take a lead into the fourth and never give it up, thus going undefeated in the regular season.

1. Michigan wins “The Game” and the Big Ten

This is the biggest college football rivalry that the game offers. Yes I know that the Iron Bowl is great too and that recently, it may be better and more entertaining to watch, but Michigan vs. Ohio State just has so much history that it has to be the greatest. The great rivalry of Bo and Woody, now being found in a pair of new coaches that may be destine to go at each other for a long time to come

I am not sure if their has ever been a meeting in this rivalry that will have so many postseason implications. Of course there was the tie game back in 1973, in which Ohio State was sent to the Rose Bowl over Michigan, even though Michigan played a better game that day. There was the No. 1 vs No. 2 game back in 2006 as well. Yet neither of those games had playoff implications.

The status of Wilton Speight changes so often that there is no real point in even guessing if he will play or not (he is 100% going to play, if not start this game). From what I can tell, this game comes down to the Michigan Defense against J.T Barrett and the Buckeye rushing attack. Which one can get the bigger push. It seems to me that, that may cause a, unstoppable forcing running into an unmovable object sensation. So if that’s the case then there will need to be an X factor from one of these teams. That X factor, is Jabrill Peppers.

Peppers, who was externally hyped up early on, has calmed down a bit toward the end of the season. This game will give him a chance to remind people why he was so hyped. It seems that some of the best Michigan players have a career defining moment against Ohio State. Desmond Howard and Heisman pose, Tim Biakabutuka running for over 300 yards, even Devin Gardner back in 2013 playing basically on one leg toward the end of the game, doing everything he could. Running and throwing. With all that in mind I feel that Peppers may make a huge play in this game that turns the tide and may even save Michigan’s playoff hopes.